Feast of Starlight is the destination for recipes inspired by the food from your favorite stories. You'll find deliciously nerdy recipes from stories like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Walking Dead.

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Saturday, April 25, 2015

The Lord of the Rings: Lembas

The Lord of the Rings: Lembas

Lembas is easily one of the most popular recipes from The Lord of the Rings so when I created a recipe for it I wanted it be perfect. There is an incredible amount of history tied to lembas and creating this recipe felt like I was digging a recipe out of the history books.

"Lembas, Elvish waybread. One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man"

Lembas translates to journey bread and has said to leave a man filled for an entire days journey. This waybread is supposedly tastier than cram and the recipe was closely guarded and was only given to outsiders once, the fellowship.

The leaves from the Mallorn tree in Lothlorien wraps and keeps the lembas fresh for days if kept unbroken. Mallorn trees grew in Lothlorien and the leaves turned gold in the autumn. In this recipe I decided to use banana leaves because it helps keep the lembas fresh longer and and it helps impart flavor. Keep reading to see how I wrapped the lembas.

The Lord of the Rings: Lembas

The Lord of the Rings: Lembas

by Feast of Starlight April-25-2015

A recipe for lembas from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by Tolkien

Ingredients

1 1/2 stick (12T) butter, soften

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

2 egg

1 T orange blossom water

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1 lemon zest

1 T vanilla extract

1/3 cup almond slices

6 large squares banana leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 360F.2. Cream together the softened butter, sugar, and honey.3. Add your orange blossom water, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix to combine.4. Add one egg at a time and scrape the batter in between each addition.5. Add your four and almond meal in two to three additions. Scrape in between each addition.6. Add almond slices and mix to combine.7. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Keep the dough 1/2" thick and square to make it easier to cut later.8. Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.9. Once the dough is firm, cut it into 2"x3" rectangles, it should be 1/2" thick. My leaves are 14" in length and 11" in width. If your leaves are bigger or smaller, cut your leaves accordingly.10. Lightly grease your baking pan. You can keep the lembas fairly close together since these are not going to spread.11. Bake for 20-30 minutes. It should be firm and light golden brown. Let these cool before wrapping.

The Mallorn Leaf. I suggest doing it free hand but here is a general stencil for the leaf.

Wrapping:

My mallorn leaves are 14" long and 11" at the widest part. You can easily do this free can and it works best with a sharp pairing knife or scissors. Once your lembas has cooled, place it the base of the leaf.

Fold the two side pieces over and fold it over. Tie it with some twine and enjoy!